


Where Have You Been?

by DecadentCollectionDestiny



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, akira is a big lovesick dork, i combined ryuji's rank 8 and 9 events for this, i have a habit of titling my fics with song lyrics, panicked gay vs confident gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecadentCollectionDestiny/pseuds/DecadentCollectionDestiny
Summary: Sakamoto Ryuji and Kurusu Akira are best friends, so when Ryuji asks Akira to back him up when confronting members of the former track team, Akira agrees. But when a fight ensues, something deep inside Akira won't let him stay still...
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 10
Kudos: 202





	Where Have You Been?

**Author's Note:**

> Rated Teen for language

When Sakamoto Ryuji asked Kurusu Akira to meet him in the school courtyard after class, Akira knew something was about to go down. 

“So I called Nakaoka and Takeishi over here,” said Ryuji, referring to two members of Shujin Academy’s former track team. Ryuji and Akira had spent several days uncovering information about the new track coach, Yamauchi, who intended to take over now that the former coach, Kamoshida, had been arrested following the stealing of his heart by the Phantom Thieves. “I’m gonna tell ‘em what that bastard Yamauchi is up to.”

“What if they start fighting?” Akira asked. Nakaoka and Takeishi being rivals, as well as not being particularly fond of Ryuji either, due to his reputation as the “track traitor”, Akira knew this was entirely a possibility. Akira gritted his teeth remembering how Ryuji had earned that unflattering nickname. The former star of the track team, he had earned the jealousy of Kamoshida, who had in turn physically abused Ryuji as well as the rest of the track team and told the entire school about Ryuji’s dysfunctional parents. In the ensuing fight between Ryuji and Kamoshida, Kamoshida had purposefully broken Ryuji’s leg, forever crushing his dreams of becoming a star runner. Akira had been happy to steal Kamoshida’s heart after hearing that story. More than happy. With their star out of the lineup, the track team had been forced to disband, causing Ryuji to be maligned by Shujin’s athletes.

In any case, a possible fight was something Akira couldn’t ignore. To be fair, although Akira had never seen him fight outside of the Metaverse, Ryuji’s alter ego, Skull, was arguably the most physically imposing member of the Phantom Thieves, and he more than held his own against shadows. Still, whenever a shadow landed a hit on Ryuji, something in Akira’s stomach twisted. He didn’t want to see that happen in the real world too. 

Ryuji grinned. “Hehehe…” he laughed. “You prolly didn’t realize, but I recorded Yamauchi’s whole convo back at the monja shop!” He ran his hand through his spiky blond hair. “I’m a genius, I know.” 

Akira smiled and rolled his eyes playfully. To his surprise, Ryuji’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“Anyways, uh…” He bit his lip anxiously. “I might need some backup here. Can you stick around?”

Akira nodded. He opened his mouth, about to say something like “absolutely”, “of course”, or even just “yes”, when he was interrupted by a harsh voice.

“What do you want, Sakamoto?” It was the boy called Takeishi, wearing Shujin’s gym uniform. 

“Takeishi?” Another boy approached, also wearing Shujin’s red tracksuit. 

“Nakaoka!?” exclaimed Takeishi. “Wh-What the hell? Are you guys gonna gang up on me!?”

Akira remembered the last time they had all been in the same place at once. It hadn’t exactly gone well.

Ryuji gave Takeishi a stern look. “Dude, chill. I just wanna talk. Listen. This here is what’s really goin’ on with the track team.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and played the recording of Yamauchi revealing his true intentions of using the track team for his own personal gain.

“It’ll be the rebirth of a team that found themselves in the depths of despair…” came Yamauchi’s voice. “The public will love it.” As the two boys stared at the phone, listening open-mouthed, Akira stared at Ryuji. _Look at him,_ he thought to himself. _Look how much effort he’s putting in for the track team, the ones who’ve shunned him for the longest time. Look at his face, he’s so concerned for them. Look at his face…_ Akira involuntarily began taking in Ryuji’s features, as if by routine. His hair, his cheeks, his eyes, his mouth… He suddenly blinked, snapping himself back to reality, and tuned back in to Yamauchi’s voice on the recording. “And the best part is, not only are Takeishi’s parents loaded, but his mother’s the president of the PTA. But until then, he can show the others the value of obedience.”

The recording ended and Ryuji put his phone back into his pocket. Takeishi rubbed his forehead in shock. “This has to be a joke…” he said incredulously. “Yamauchi said he’d make me the captain…”

“Is this real?” asked Nakaoka suspiciously.

“It’s Yamauchi’s voice, ain’t it?” Ryuji replied calmly. “And on top of that, shit’s gone down just like he said.”

There was a moment of silence as Takeishi and Nakaoka stared at the ground in thought. Akira remained silent as well. Nobody had mentioned his presence, but he hoped Takeishi and Nakaoka were aware of him. He stood solemnly, his hands in his pockets. 

“Yamauchi’s right,” Takeishi finally broke the silence. “I don’t have talent… I’m not like you guys… I ran so damn hard, but you two were always so far ahead…” He hung his head in shame. “How’s a guy like me supposed to succeed? How am I supposed to be proud of myself!?”

Ryuji stuck his thumbs into his pockets and leaned back. “Proud..?” he asked, his brow furrowed. 

“My dad always talks about how proud he is of his son…” Takeishi continued. “He told everyone I’d get a track scholarship like he did… That I’d follow in his footsteps as a second-generation Taisei grad…” Akira saw him purse his lips in frustration. “That’s why I listened to Yamauchi. He said if I was the captain, he’d write me a great letter of rec…”

“...So you trusted what he was sayin’ about Nakaoka ‘cause of stupid crap like that?” Ryuji asked curtly.

Takeishi stepped toward Ryuji angrily. “Sh-Shut up! What does a thug like you know!? You couldn’t know how I feel… Nobody does!”

Akira tensed when he heard that word. Thug. He’d heard Ryuji called all kinds of names, by students, teachers, shadows. Delinquent. Vulgar. Brat. _They don’t know anything,_ he wanted to say. Ryuji was the opposite of a thug, in every way. But they refused to look past his reputation, and it made Akira mad. He didn’t often get upset, but hearing somebody insult the first friend he’d made since coming to Tokyo, the one without whom he wouldn’t have lasted long, either at Shujin or in the Metaverse, inevitably caused his fists to clench.

Ryuji stomped his foot and leaned closer to Takeishi’s face. “Like hell I don’t know!” he yelled. “How long were we runnin’ together, huh!? I went through all sorts of shit with you!” The words flew out of his mouth like daggers. Akira stood silent, wishing he could say something, but his throat seemed to have closed up.

“Sakamoto…” said Takeishi quietly. 

“Who’re you livin’ your life for?” Ryuji asked angrily. “Your parents? Teachers? Society?” His voice softened slightly. “Maybe you should stop tryin’ to live for them, and just try livin’ for yourself. You think you gotta betray people to be proud?”

“W-Well, I…” Takeishi stuttered. Ryuji cut him off.

“If that’s seriously what you think, you’re wrong!” He turned to the other boy. “Nakaoka. You knew something was up with Yamauchi too, didn’t you? I mean, the bastard’s never been interested in track before… But you kept quiet. You knew he was walkin’ all over you, and you just let him do it.” Akira was glad to see him finally saying these words. They had been on his mind for a long time, and Akira knew it.

“Yeah…” Nakaoka replied sheepishly. “I was afraid… Without Yamauchi, we still wouldn’t have a team… or a place to belong.”

Ryuji’s face softened. “...You missed runnin’ that bad?” He sighed, and looked at the two boys with an expression that Akira could only describe as a strange mixture of sympathy and pity. “Y’know… it ain’t so scary not havin’ a place you belong. You can kinda be free that way. If anything, I’m more scared of bein’ a crappy person.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground. “I mean, I used to be like you guys… afraid, lyin’ to myself…” He looked up and nodded towards Akira. “That is, before I met this dude.”

Akira’s heart jumped. He blinked and instinctively reached a hand to his hair to twist at a strand, a nervous tic he couldn’t help. He turned to look at Ryuji and found him looking back at him, his dark brown eyes shining like two stars. He gave Akira a nod and a slight smile and turned back to Takeishi and Nakaoka. Akira shifted his feet to regain his balance, which had bizarrely begun to tip.

“I don’t wanna insult you guys or nothin’, but I know you’re prolly real pissed about all this…” Ryuji continued. “So… if you wanna hit me or somethin’, go ahead. I’m ready.” 

Akira’s eyes widened and he turned his head sharply to look at Ryuji in surprise. _Hit him?_ Ryuji stood feet squared, no hint of fear on his face. 

Takeishi and Nakaoka shared a look. “In that case…” said Takeishi.

“If you insist…” Nakaoka shrugged.

Takeishi brought back his fist, and a firecracker was lit under Akira’s heart. Before he had time to think, he had stepped in front of Ryuji. As Takeishi swung his fist, Akira grabbed his wrist, holding it above his head.

“Akira!?” cried Ryuji in surprise.

Akira glared at Takeishi through his glasses, his eyes on fire behind his long bangs. When he spoke, his voice was low and grave. “Don’t. You dare. Touch him.”

Takeishi was speechless for a moment, then tried to wrest his wrist from Akira’s grasp. “What the hell, man!? He said we could hit him!”

Akira kept Takeishi’s wrist in his hold. “I don’t **care.** I’m not going to let you hurt him.”

“Hey, what’s the big deal?” asked Nakaoka, but Akira cut him off.

“I’ll tell you what the big deal is,” he began, letting go of Takeishi’s wrist and leveling a finger at Nakaoka. “The ‘big deal’ is that you have been treating Ryuji absolutely horribly for too long.” Akira’s voice began to rise. “What has he done to deserve this? What did he ever do to you?”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Takeishi in disgust. “He made the track team disband! He’s the reason we couldn’t go to championships or anything!”

Akira could feel his face getting red. He stepped closer to Takeishi and Nakaoka. “And you think that was his fault!?” He was yelling now. “How in the world can you stand there, knowing what you know about **Kamoshida,** and say that what happened to the track team is his fault?” 

Nakaoka raised his hands defensively. “Hey, dude, you weren’t there, so-”

“So what if I wasn’t!? I know enough to say that you two should be the ones supporting him instead of kicking him while he’s down! He worked just as hard as any of you, and suffered just as much, or even more. You, of all people, should understand that!”

“Look, man,” said Takeishi sharply. “This isn’t really any of your business, is it? Don’t you have anything better to do than hang around this moron? Why do you care?”

Akira exploded. “Because Sakamoto Ryuji is my best friend, that’s why I care!” he shouted. “He stayed by my side when no one else would, and as long as I’m here, I’ll make it my business, because I-” Akira’s words stuck in his throat for a moment. “I care for him more than you could ever imagine, so if you think for one second that I’m just going to stand here and watch you hurt him right in front of me, then you are **dead wrong.** ”

“Akira…” said Ryuji quietly from behind him. His voice, so unusually quiet and meek, was gasoline on the fire in Akira’s heart.

Takeishi and Nakaoka exchanged wary glances, but Akira kept pressing towards them. He had never felt so worked up in his life, not even when confronting shadows. These words had been sitting on his tongue ever since Ryuji had told him why the track team disbanded. They had burned him like hot coals for so long, and now he was finally spitting them out. It felt good. 

“I’ll have you know,” he hissed. “That Kamoshida broke his leg on **purpose.** He told me so himself.” It had actually been Kamoshida’s shadow who had told him and not Kamoshida himself, but that was a technicality Akira was willing to overlook. 

“A-Are you serious?” asked Nakaoka in disbelief. 

Akira crossed his arms. “Is that so hard to believe?” he asked. “You know what he was like.”

“I…” began Takeishi. “I had a hunch…”

Akira’s jaw dropped. He felt his face begin to burn hot with anger. “You-” he sputtered. “Then why-” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I honestly cannot believe you right now.” He gestured wildly at Ryuji, who was still standing silently behind him.

“This boy had his dreams **crushed!** ” he yelled. “By an **adult!** An adult who was taking advantage of you, too!” He pointed from Takeishi to Nakaoka. They both stared at the ground. “And you knew it! So what did you do? That’s right, **nothing!** You stood and watched and did nothing to help, and then you had the audacity to blame him!”

Akira was starting to run out of energy. He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to get so upset.”

“L-Look, man…” began Takeishi. “I… I’m sorry.”

Akira put his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “Don’t apologize to me.”

“R-Right…” Takeishi turned to Ryuji. “Sakamoto… I’m… sorry for everything that happened.”

“I’m sorry too,” said Nakaoka. “You’re right. We _have_ been… lying to ourselves this whole time.”

Ryuji smiled a small smile. “Yeah… Thanks, you guys,” he said. “I know what happened ain’t your fault either. I hope… we can put this all behind us, y’know?” He grinned. “And maybe the next time we talk… it won’t end in me almost gettin’ punched out?”

The group laughed. Nakaoka cleared his throat. “So… about Yamauchi…” He turned to Takeishi. “Wanna start the track team up again?”

“Hell yeah!” said Takeishi, and the two headed off, discussing their next step.

Ryuji and Akira watched them walk off in silence until Ryuji suddenly turned to Akira. “Shit, man!” he laughed. “I didn’t know you had that in you!”

Akira pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to do any of that.”

“You…” Akira saw Ryuji rub the back of his neck. “You did mean what you said though… right?”

Akira looked up. “Of course,” he said. He looked Ryuji in the eyes. “Yeah, I… I meant all of it.”

Ryuji smiled and glanced back down at the grass. “Heh…” he chuckled. “Y’know… I’ve never really had anyone… stick up for me like you did just now. So, I guess what I’m try’na say is…” He looked back up at Akira. “Thank you. I mean it.”

What was it about those round brown eyes that made Akira’s face go hot? “Don’t mention it.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry I said all those things about… your leg and not being able to run right in front of you. I’m sure it wasn’t fun to hear.” 

Ryuji grinned his signature grin. “Don’t worry about it.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I wasn’t planning on saying this now, but… I just gotta.” 

Ryuji sighed. “When you first came to Shujin, people were talkin’ so much shit about you.” He grinned. “But you took it in stride. You just did whatever you thought was cool, and didn’t care what other people said about you.” Ryuji rocked back and forth on his feet. “I guess that’s why people kinda get pulled towards you, man.” He smiled slightly at his shoe, kicking at the grass. “...Myself included,” he said quietly. He looked back up at Akira. “Wherever you decide to be, that’s where you belong.” 

Akira pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Yeah, I… guess you’re right,” he replied. 

Ryuji beamed, a smile that Akira couldn’t help but return. “God, you’re so freakin’ cool.”

Akira hoped his face didn’t look as red as it felt. “Y’know…” Ryuji continued, “back before I met you, I kept makin’ excuses for why I couldn’t fit in. It was always ‘cause of someone else. Kamoshida, the track team...” He shook his head. “Hell, I even blamed my dad. I was such a freakin’ loser… But I’ve realized now… as long as I’m bein’ myself, I’ll always have somewhere I can fit in. It ain’t really the same place as before, but it’s damn good.” 

He looked at Akira’s eyes and shrugged slightly. “I’m just glad I found it,” he said, and Akira’s insides melted. What was it? What was it about this boy, this grinning, spiky-haired rebel, that made him feel the safest he’d ever felt?

“I…” Akira could barely talk. “I’m glad too, Ryuji.”

Ryuji smiled. “Heh, don’t worry, man,” he said. “There’s a place here for you too.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Were his cheeks slightly pink? Probably just Akira’s imagination. “Right next to me… or maybe ahead? Something like that.”

“Ryuji…” Akira’s lungs hurt. His chest ached. What was wrong with him? He managed to spit out the thing he’d been wanting to say for some time. “I will always be by your side.”

Ryuji’s smile grew wider. “Thank you… Akira.”

There was a moment of silence, the two boys smiling at each other. Then, Ryuji broke the silence. “Fuck it.” He grabbed Akira by the shirt front, pulled him close, and pressed his lips roughly to Akira’s. 

Akira’s eyes widened in shock. But, as he felt Ryuji’s touch, he realized: _Oh. This is it. This is why. I understand now._ Akira felt himself involuntarily melting into Ryuji’s arms. His eyes slowly closed, and he put his arms around Ryuji’s waist, pulling him closer. 

All too soon, Ryuji pulled away. “So…” he said, his face still mere inches from Akira’s. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

Akira laughed, his smile squeezing a tear out of his left eye. “Oh, Ryuji…” He wrapped his arms around him again. “I found you.” He felt Ryuji’s strong arms around him, his fingers running through his hair, and had never felt more at home. 

“Hey…” said Ryuji, pulling his head back to meet Akira’s eyes. “This is gonna be super corny, but I’ve been wantin’ to use this line on you for ages. Mind if I…?”

“Go ahead,” Akira smiled.

Ryuji cleared his throat, then said in a comically seductive voice: “Hey, did you send me a calling card?” He placed a hand on Akira’s face, his thumb on his chin. This time, it wasn’t Akira’s imagination - his cheeks were definitely pink. “‘Cause you’ve stolen my heart.”

Akira laughed and rolled his eyes. “You are too much.”

Ryuji smirked. “Sure am.” He laughed. “Sorry, I had to.” He cleared his throat. “So… first date?”

“Ramen?” asked Akira.

“You know it,” Ryuji grinned, slipping his hand into Akira’s.

**Author's Note:**

> I always hated how you had to watch Ryuji get beaten up in his rank 8 event and you couldn't do anything about it. Let Akira be gay, Atlus.


End file.
